Railway truck supporting third rail collection equipment

ABSTRACT

Articulated apparatus for stably supporting third rail current collection equipment at a fixed height and lateral location on railway trucks includes an arm flexibly connected to the truck equalizer, a pair of vertically spaced parallel links pivotally connected at their inner ends on an axis longitudinal of the truck to the truck frame side member and support members pivotally connected to the outer ends of both of the links and supportingly connected to the arm at points spaced apart transversely of the truck. The links and arms are elongated longitudinally of the truck and their connections to the equalizer and truck frame side member are correspondingly spaced apart. The third rail shoe beams are mounted on the outer portions of the arms.

United States Patent [191 Jackson [451 Mar. 26, 1974 [75] Inventor: Keith L. Jackson, Granite City, 111.

[73] Assignee: General Steel Industries, Inc., St.

Louis, Mo.

[22] Filed: July 24, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 274,170

Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examinerl-Ioward Beltran Attorney, Agent, or Firm-F. Travers Burgess 5 7] ABSTRACT Articulated apparatus for stably supporting third rail current collection equipment at a fixed height and latera] location on railway trucks includes an arm flexibly connected to the truck equalizer. a pair of vertically spaced parallel links pivotally connected at their inner ends on an axis longitudinal of the truck to the truck frame side member and support members pivotally connected to the outer ends of both of the links and supportingly connected to the arm at points spaced apart transversely of the truck. The links and arms are elongated longitudinally of the truck and their connections to the equalizer and truck frame side member are correspondingly spaced apart. The third rail shoe beams are mounted on the outer portions of the arms.

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PAIENIEDIARZB m4 3.799.065

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RAILWAY TRUCK SUPPORTING THIRD RAIL COLLECTION EQUIPMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

l. Field of the Invention: The invention relates to railway vehicle trucks and consists particularly in apparatus for supporting third rail current collection equipment from inside bearing equalized trucks.

2. The Prior Art: In conventional railway trucks in which the truck frames are laterally outboard of the wheels and are mounted on journal boxes carried by projecting ends of the axles, third rail collection shoe beams are frequently secured at their ends to the journal boxes so that the beams and the shoes mounted thereon do not move vertically with respect to the track and third rail in accordance with vertical deflection of the truck springs. This arrangement cannot be used on inside bearing trucks because of the lack of protruding axles or outboard journal boxes for support of the beam. Third rail shoe beams have often been rigidly mounted on truck equalizers, with the disadvantage that all overturning moments of the collection equipment are transferred to and must be resisted by the equalizers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

The invention provides apparatus for stably supporting third rail collection equipment from unsprung railway truck equalizers. This is achieved by flexibly connecting the third rail shoe beam support arm to the equalizer and supporting the beam support arm parallel to a carrier member which is held against tilting about a longitudinal axis by a pair of vertically spaced parallel horizontal links connected at their outer ends to the carrier member and at their inner ends to the truck frame. Thus, overturning moments on the collection equipment are transferred to the truck frame by which they are effectively resisted, instead of to the equalizer, and the shoe beam is stabilized at a constant height and lateral distance from the equalizer without interference with the action of the springs supporting the truck frame on the equalizer.

ln one embodiment the third rail shoe beam support arm is pivotally connected to the equalizer and is supported from the carrier member by parallel, transversely spaced hanger links to permit lateral movement of the beam support arm with respect to the carrier member to compensate for foreshortening of the horizontal links as a result of equalizer spring deflection.

In another embodiment the carrier member supports the beam support arm by connections utilizing elastomeric material to position the beam support arm vertically and to permit necessary relative lateral movement.

In a third embodiment the arm is connected to the equalizer by laterally yieldable, vertically stiff elastomeric means and the carrier rigidly supports the arm, necessary lateral movement being provided by the connections between the arm and equalizer.

In a fourth embodiment, for use where foreshortening of the horizontal links is negligible, an arm rigidly connected to the carrier is pivotally connected to the equalizer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a railway truck incorporating the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the truck illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view along line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the truck illustrated in FIGS. 1-3.

FIG. 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a transverse vertical sectional view corresponding to FIG. 5 but showing a second form of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a transverse vertical sectional view corresponding to FIGS. 5 and 6 but showing a third form of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a transverse vertical sectional view corresponding to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 but showing a fourth form of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION:

The numeral 1 denotes railway flanged wheels resting on trackrails R and mounted in spaced pairs on the ends of a pair of axles 3 which in turn are spaced apart from each other and mount inboard of the wheels journal boxes 5. Equalizers 7 are mounted at their ends on journal boxes 5 and support, intermediate their ends, upright coil springs 9 on which are supported longitudinally extending truck frame side members 11. Side members 11 are connected at their ends by transoms l3 and intermediate their ends by center transom 15 to form a rigid one-piece truck frame.

It is desirable, as pointed out hereinabove, that third rail collection equipment be held in fixed vertical relation to the track structure to assure constant contact of the third rail shoes and the third rail T with a minimum of action of the third rail shoe spring. Since there is no nonrotating unsprung member such as a journal box outboard of wheels 1 and the only exposed unsprung members are equalizers 7, the latter are utilized for supporting the shoe beams B in accordance with the present invention.

Each of the equalizers 7 mounts a pair of longitudinally spaced brackets 17 each formed with an outwardly projecting clevis 19, clevises 19 having their common axes extending longitudinally of the truck. Transversely extending end portions 21 of a longitudinally elongated arm 22 are pivotally secured at their inner ends by pins 23 to the respective clevises 19. The outer ends of arm end portions 21 are outwardly bifurcated as at 25 to grippingly receive third rail shoe beam B, on which third rail shoe S is mounted.

For maintaining arm 22 in its normal generally horizontal position, despite some slight lateral tipping of equalizer 7, a carrier member 27 of generally inverted T cross section, elongated longitudinally of the truck, is located above arm 21 and is provided at each end with a pair of vertically spaced inboard clevis brackets 29U and 29L, which are connected by a vertically acting guidance device comprising parallel, normally horizontal links 31U and 31L to vertically spaced clevis brackets 33U and 33L on truck frame side member 11.

Carrier members 27 are formed with a generally triangular transverse web 35 at'each end, and webs 35 are perforated near their lower angles at points spaced apart transversely of the truck to pivotally support, via horizontally aligned longitudinally extending pins 37 and 39, the upper ends of parallel vertical links 41 and 43, the lower ends of which are pivotally connected by pins 43 and 45 to upstanding brackets 47 and 49 on arm end portions 21.

In operation, horizontal links 31U and 31L hold carrier member 27 against tipping about its longitudinal axis, thus maintaining hanger link pins 37 and 39 horizontal, so that hanger links 41 and 43 maintain arm end portions 21 similarly horizontal while permitting lateral movement of the carrier member relative to the arm 22 caused by foreshortening of the horizontal links as the equalizer springs 9 deflect. Since the inner ends of the latter are secured by pins 23 to equalizer bracket clevises 19, the outer ends 25 of arm end portions 21 and third rail shoe beam B and shoe S remain at constant height from the track rails R and accordingly at constant height with respect to third rail T and at a constant distance from the equalizer, irrespective of vertical deflections of equalizer springs 9.

With this arrangement, as the equalizer springs 9 deflect and frame side members 11 rise and fall relative to equalizers 7, such movements are accommodated, without changing the position of beam arm 22, and the equalizer is not required to resist overturning moments imparted to the shoe beam B because, through hanger links 41 and 43 and 31U and 31L and carrier member 27, such moments are resisted by the truck frame even though the position of the beam is fixed by the equalizer.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 6, the parts substantially identical to those in the previous embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, while modified elements are'designated by the same numeral accompanied by the letter a. In this embodiment, the end portions of carrier members 27a are formed with flange plates 53 longitudinally outboard of their end webs 35a and each arm end portion 21a is formed with a top flange plate 55 vertically spaced above the top beam gripping bifurcation 25. Instead of hanger links 41 and 43 for supporting arm 22a from support member 27a and permitting limited lateral motion therebetween, flange plates 53 and 55 are formed with vertically aligned pairs of holes 56 spaced apart transversely of the truck and connector assemblies, each comprising a bolt 57 or other suitable tension member passing through the aligned holes, with annular elastomeric pads 59 surrounding the bolt between flanges 53 and 55 and above flange 53 and below flange 55, the entire assembly being held in padcompressing relation by a washer 61 between the bolt head and upper pad 59 and a nut 63 and washer 65 abutting the bottom of lower pad 59. Holes 56 are slightly larger than bolts 57 to accommodate slight relative lateral movement between carrier member 27a and arm 22a when links 31U and 31L move from their normal horizontal 'position as a result of vertical springing movements of frame side member 11 with respect to equalizer 7.

In the embodiment of FIG. 7 the parts substantially identical to those in the previous embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, while substantially modified elements are designated by the same numeral followed by the letter b. In this embodiment, the carrier member 27b and arm 22b are rigid with each other, preferably being a one-piece casting and the inner ends of each arm end portion 21b are flat inboard projections 71 extending into jaws defined between vertically spaced outboard projections 73, 73 on equalizer bracket 17b. Flat pads of elastomeric material 75 are compressed between projection 71 and each projection 73 and are yieldable in shear to permit lateral movement of arm 22b if required by pivoting of links 31U and 31L during vertical springing movements of frame side members 11 on the equalizer. Pads 75 also insulate the equalizer from overturning moments on arm 22b so that these are resisted by links 31U and 31L.

In the embodiment of FIG. 8, the parts substantially different from those in previous embodiments are identified by corresponding numerals followed by the letter c. This embodiment is the same as that of FIG. 7 ex cept for the use of a pivotal connection 23, 19 between combined carrier member arm 22c, 27c and equalizer bracket 17. This embodiment may be used where tilting of links 31U and 31L is negligible.

The details of the structure may be varied substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention and the exclusive use of those modifications coming within the scope of the appended claims is contemplated.

I claim:

1. The combination with a railway vehicle truck comprising a pair of wheel and axle assemblies, equalizers supported at their ends on end portions of said assemblies, a truck frame having side members springsupported on said equalizers and vertically spaced therefrom, of a third rail collector assembly support means flexibly connected to said equalizer for pivotal movement about an axis longitudinal of said equalizer whereby to accommodate tilting movements of the equalizer about its longitudinal axis without causing corresponding tipping of said support means, and vertically acting guidance means connecting said assembly support means to said truck frame whereby to resist tipping of said support means about a longitudinal axis while freely accommodating vertical movements of said truck frame relative to said equalizers.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said support means comprises an arm flexibly connected at a fixed level to said equalizer and extending laterally outboard therefrom, said guidance means comprising a pair of vertically spaced parallel links pivotally connected on an axis longitudinal of the truck to said truck frame side member and extending laterally outboard therefrom, a carrier member pivotally connected to the outer portions of both said links and supportingly connected to said arm, and means for securing a third rail collector assembly to the outer portion of said arm.

3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein said arm, said links and said carrier member are elongated longitudinally of the truck and their connections to said truck frame, said equalizer, and each other are correspondingly spaced.

4. The combination according to claim 3 including a third rail shoe beam supported by the outer ends of the arms of said respective beam supports and extending therebetween longitudinally of the truck.

5. The combination according to claim 3 wherein the connections of said arm to said equalizer are pivots with their axes extending longitudinally of the truck.

6. The combination according to claim 5 including a pair of connections between each end of said carrier member and said arm spaced apart transversely of the truck.

7. The combination according to claim 6 wherein said connections are a pair of parallel generally vertical links pivotally connected at their opposite ends, on axes extending longitudinally of the truck, to said carrier member and said arm.

8. The combination according to claim 6 wherein said carrier member and said arm have horizontal plates along their respective bottom and top margins, and said connections comprise a pair of vertical tension members passing through said plates and a resilient member surrounding said tension members and compressed between said plates.

9. The combination according to claim 8 wherein said tension members have shoulders at their upper and lower ends and additional resilient members are compressed between said shoulders and the respective adjacent horizontal plates.

10. The combination according to claim 3 wherein each flexible connection of said arm to said equalizer comprises an outwardly open horizontal jaw on said equalizer, an inboard horizontal projection on said arm received within said equalizer jaw, and a pair of flat elastomeric pad elements compressed respectively between said arm projection and said equalizer jaw.

11. The combination according to claim 10 wherein said carrier member and said arm are rigidly connected to each other.

12. The combination according to claim 11 wherein said carrier member and said arm are integral with each other. 

1. The combination with a railway vehicle truck comprising a pair of wheel and axle assemblies, equalizers supported at their ends on end portions of said assemblies, a truck frame having side members spring-supported on said equalizers and vertically spaced therefrom, of a third rail collector assembly support means flexibly connected to said equalizer for pivotal movement about an axis longitudinal of said equalizer whereby to accommodate tilting movements of the equalizer about its longitudinal axis without causing corresponding tipping of said support means, and vertically acting guidance means connecting said assembly support means to said truck frame whereby to resist tipping of said support means about a longitudinal axis while freely accommodating vertical movements of said truck frame relative to said equalizers.
 2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said support means comprises an arm flexibly connected at a fixed level to said equalizer and extending laterally outboard therefrom, said guidance means comprising a pair of vertically spaced parallel links pivotally connected on an axis longitudinal of the truck to said truck frame side member and extending laterally outboard therefrom, a carrier member pivotally connected to the outer portions of both said links and supportingly connected to said arm, and means for securing a third rail collector assembly to the outer portion of said arm.
 3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein said arm, said links and said carrier member are elongated longitudinally of the truck and their connections to said truck frame, said equalizer, and each other are correspondingly spaced.
 4. The combination according to claim 3 including a third rail shoe beam supported by the outer ends of the arms of said respective beam supports and extending therebetween longitudinally of the truck.
 5. The combination according to claim 3 wherein the connections of said arm to said equalizer are pivots with their axes extending longitudinally of the truck.
 6. The combination according to claim 5 including a pair of connections between each end of said carrier member and said arm spaced apart transversely of the truck.
 7. The combination according to claim 6 wherein said connections are a pair of parallel generally vertical links pivotally connected at their opposite ends, on axes extending longitudinally of the truck, to said carrier member and said arm.
 8. The combination according to claim 6 wherein said carrier member and said arm have horizontal plates along their respective bottom and top margins, and said connections comprise a pair of vertical tension members passing through said plates and a resilient member surrounding said tension members and compressed between said plates.
 9. The combination according to claim 8 wherein said tension members have shoulders at their upper and lower ends and additional resilient members are compressed between said shoulders and the respective adjacent horizontal plates.
 10. The combination according to claim 3 wherein each flexible connection of said arm to said equalizer comprises an outwardly open horizontal jaw on said equalizer, an inboard horizontal projection on said arm received within said equalizer jaw, and a pair of flat elastomeric pad elements compressed respectively between said arm projection and said equalizer jaw.
 11. The combination according to claim 10 wherein said carrier member and said arm are rigidly connected to each other.
 12. The combination according to claim 11 wherein said carrier member and said arm are integral with each othEr. 